A Different Beginning
by Devy Black
Summary: A three year old Harry gets kidnapped from his home at the Dursley's. He now finds himself in a new home with a loving father and a mischievous uncle. Severitus, Sirius plays the part of the uncle. WIP again. Rewriting everything...
1. Prolouge

**I decided to read my first fic again and nearly got a heart attack. So many spelling errors, so silly plot holes. Ugh. And considering my laptop is broken and I don't have access to A Different First Year right now, I'm going to spend some time on repairing everything that's broken in this one. I'm probably adding some new chapters and changing some things that may be important in the future... **

**If you want to, you can keep up with it and see the story change and grow out of its immatureness. But if not, you won't lose anything. Maybe just a good read, but that's already your decision to make. **

**I'm expecting reviews, so I could see if I'm moving in the right direction.**

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Severus Snape stared into the dull darkness of the night. It was all he had left.

_Everything is gone... everything...Lily. _

He bowed his head in surrender, giving up under the heavy burden of emotions that threatened to drown him. A lonely tear fell in the darkness. What was the point of his existence now? Series of memories played trough his mind. A red haired woman was always present in those flashes – laughing, talking and even shouting. Except for one. It was the moment he had gotten the news...

_Black had been sitting in the Three __Broomsticks and everyone was keeping their distance from him. It was the perfect time, he thought, to get even with him. How wrong he had been. The look Black had given him when he walked over, gave an answer on its own. No words were needed. As soon as Severus understood, he turned into an exact copy of Black. He sunk on the other chair behind the table. Then they both sat behind one table for once not fighting. Grief had gotten together two grave enemies and now all they had were memories of friends they both loved so much..._

The Dark Lord had attacked Godrics Hollow. Lily was dead. The only woman he had ever loved was dead. The only woman he would ever love. And the only woman who would ever consider standing next to him, being his friend. And her son too. There was no way Harry Potter could have survived it. He had nothing of Lily to keep him going. Severus Snape was never the man, who would cry, but now silent tears were falling once more from his dark eyes and he didn't give a care in the world about it. There was no reason to stay in this wretched world anymore, no point or purpose. Only death could save him now and maybe let him stay with her again...

He took out a vial of purple liquid. The contents sloshed against the walls of the vial. Poison is always sweeter than the antidote because death has always been more alluring.

Just as he put the vial to his lips and took a last semi-scared breath, a golden feather appeared from seemingly nowhere. It was Fawkes' and Severus understood what it meant. Dumbledore knew what he was trying to do and wanted to stop him. He took a second to think and decided he could go and say his goodbyes to the only real father he had ever had.

Severus apparated away and the moment he arrived, he noticed the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall standing somewhere that looked like a muggle neighborhood, staring intently at the skies.

"Ah, Severus. Always the fast one..." Dumbledore was smiling brightly though his smile dimmed a bit when he saw Severus's appearance. Severus noticed it and scoffed: „Yes, Headmaster. Why did you call me here? It's a muggle street". He had expected Hogwarts and was quite surprised by his surroundings, though he would never show any emotions. The only thing he could think of was the reason he was called. Surely it couldn't be about stopping his death – Dumbledore could have done it anywhere.

"I'm aware of that, Severus. I'm sure you have heard about what happened last night..." Dumbledore's eyes examined Severus and the younger man felt as the wizard was looking straight trough him. Possibly he was.

"You mean about the Potter's death?"

"Yes, I mean about James' and Lily's death..." Dumbledore's eyes looked sad and regretful for their deaths and even held a bit compassion for Severus. Only few people had known about his and Lily's friendship and the Headmaster had been one of them.

"You forgot her son". Tears threatened to fall again and Severus did his best to keep them back. He was not going to cry in front of Minerva.

"Well the actual reason I called you here is that we don't know what to do... You see - Harry Potter survived the Avada Kedavra curse and..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because Severus had grabbed the neck of his robes and was clinging to it with the look of a madman.

"Impossible... Dark Lord... Lily... Just a child..."

"We know... But somehow Harry blocked the curse and sent it back to Voldemort. I guess I just have to think about it for a while" The old man answered and fell into though for a few seconds. He was soon interrupted by Severus, who had let go of his robes and was regaining control of his emotions again.

"What are you going to do with him? And where is he?" He didn't see the child anywhere. Only Minerva and Dumbledore.

"Calm down, Severus. Sirius has Harry and they're on their way here..." Dumbledore tried to soothe Severus and almost succeeded. Until something clicked...

"Black!? But there are rumors going around he was the one who betrayed them!" He knew very well that Sirius' grief a few hours ago had been sincere, but he also knew that the mutt had been the Potter's secret keeper.

"No... It was Peter Pettigrew. He is already in Azkaban, if I'm not mistaken."

Severus nodded. Pettigrew hadn't been his first guess, considering the werewolf was also in the picture, but after a few thoughts it seemed even logical. Pettigrew had always been weak and Dark Lord had always promised power to those who would follow him. Ideas of revenge boiled in his head, but were cut off by a more important question.

"Headmaster... What are you going to do with the boy?" He hoped against hope...

"I'm leaving him here. His only relatives live on this street. They are muggles, but if Harry has inherited anything from his father, I believe he is going to be just fine."

Again Severus nodded. For a second he had already hoped that...

"You must understand, Severus. I can't leave him to you. Even if you may actually be the one he might need the most..." Severus never got a chance to ask Dumbledore why he thought so, because the sky lit up and a flying motorcycle appeared from between the clouds. Black was sitting on the bike and Harry was safely cradled in his arm. He landed softly and got off the bike.

"Good evening, Sirius. I see you have our little savior. "

Dumbledore reached for the baby and was somewhat shocked to see Sirius pulling Harry even closer to his chest, not even thinking about letting the boy go. It was as if Harry was the only thing still holding him alive. Severus couldn't help, but feel some kind of connection to him.

"I'm his Godfather! What you want is wrong!"

There were darks circles around his eyes and he looked like a moving skeleton. Only Severus could see a small shimmer of life in Blacks eyes that was directed on the baby. He had changed beyond recognition and the pleading tone in which the words had been said was the same that Severus heart screaming in his head.

"He has to be with his relatives. They are the only ones who can provide the required protection. Sirius, you don't have any parental experience. Please understand this is the only way..."

The Headmaster reached for the baby again, but once more Sirius pulled away and even threw a glance at his bike. Severus smirked when he understood what Sirius was thinking.

"Black, he is right. There is no way you could raise him."

Black sighed and handed the baby over with tears in his eyes, but not before one last adoring kiss on Harry's forehead.

Dumbledore gently took the baby from Sirius and placed him on the Dursley's doorstep, adding a letter. Here he was - The Boy Who Lived - doomed to live with some muggles that possibly wanted nothing to do with the boy.

When the Headmaster and McGonagall had said their goodbyes and apparated away, Severus saw grim determination on Black's face.

"What are you plotting Black?" Severus's eyes narrowed. He knew very well that he would do everything to help Sirius. Former hate was magically disappeared and some kind of common understanding had replaced it in the blink of an eye.

"Mother just died and I just happen to be her only heir. So I have a house... Dumbledore is right – I can't raise him and neither can you. But together we could do just fine. Better than the lot he's going stay with now..."

Sirius picked Harry up and had already taken a step towards his bike, when Severus stopped him. With a firm scowl the dark man took Harry and placed him on the doorstep again.

"If we take him now, we'll lose him in a few hours. And then for forever. Don't you think that if Harry goes missing, the first place Dumbledore's going to look is your house?"

Seeing a new idea cross Sirius' thoughts, he added: „And when he doesn't find Harry there, my place would be next..."

"What do you have in mind then?" Sirius asked desperately.

"He's going to stay here and we'll have to wait for the right moment. I have a few ideas, but I need to do some researching. You can help me and offer me a place to stay."

Sirius nodded and jumped on his bike.

"It's going to work out! It has to! See you at Grimmaulds Place!"

He took off into the skies and Severus smiled for the first time over for what seemed like forever. Then he took a last glance at Harry, thanked Merlin for Dumbledore and his stupid bird and apparated away.

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**Devy Black **


	2. Ready? Set? Go!

**It takes much time to rewrite it, but I AM trying. And as soon as this fic is done, I will continue with its sequal - promise. Right now it would probably be good to reread it from the beginning of this one. A LOT has changed, I have new ideas and it all fits. **

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Two years later...

It was a sunny afternoon. Two men in black suites approached a house just like those next to it. The shorter man knocked on the light wooden door and they waited. Not a minute later the door was opened. A skinny woman in a pink cocktail dress was staring the men down, not quite sure if she should smile or not.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

The taller man sneered at her, but the shorter was smiling.

„Congratulations, Mrs. Dursley! You have won the title of The Most Beautiful Garden this year!"

That was enough to make up Mrs. Dursley's mind. A wide smile spread on her face as she giggled:"My garden? Oh, what a pleasant surprise!"

„Maybe we could come in and talk about the details?" the taller man asked, putting all his strength into keeping his voice polite.

„Yes, of course... Do come in and maybe you would like a cup of the and some biscuits?" Mrs. Dursley answered, letting them in.

While she was in the kitchen, both men took in their surroundings. Everything was almost painfully clean and sickeningly normal. It seemed as if even the smallest bit of dust couldn't fit in the picture and would be destroyed as soon as it tried.

„Where is he?" the taller man asked impatiently.

„Calm down, Severus. We have to stay cool and collected... He may very well be playing in the garden!" the sorter man answered and Severus snorted. Yeah right - Petunia would certainly let a wizard play in her household!

He wanted to point that out, but Petunia had already arrived with both tea and biscuits.

„So... Mrs. Dursley, you don't happen to have any children, do you?" Sirius asked and Petunia smiled.

„Yes, yes... In fact I do have a son. He's a real angel! The best boy in the world!" She giggled and both men nodded.

Severus let out a relieved sigh. At least Harry was loved. The woman had even called him „the best boy in the world". But Sirius wasn't so easily convinced.

„And there's only the three of you - you, your husband and your son - living here?"

Now Petunia's smile faded and Severus felt cold terror running through his veins. Maybe the woman had her own child whom she loved so dearly. Maybe Harry wasn't even here anymore!

„My nephew is staying with us for a while. We're not exactly proud of him - never helps and he's really rude all the time. We don't like to mention him." Petunia made it quite clear with her tone that she wasn't interested in talking about her other „son".

Suddenly a shriek came from upstairs. Both men jumped to their feet, ready to grab their wands if necessary.

„MOOOOMMMMMY!!!! HE'S DOING IT AGAIN!!!"

A huge boy came bolting down the stairs, running straight to Petunia and holding onto her dress. Petunia didn't seem to know how to react. She looked at both Sirius and Severus and raised her hands with a silly smile plastered on her face.

„I told you the boy is menace. Probably was trying to lure my precious son into something wicked again... Please do not let it disturb you!" She let out a whim perish giggle and turned to look at the stairs.

„Harry Potter, would you please come down!"

Severus and Sirius held their breaths. Now, every second, they were going to see him. Although while Sirius hoped for a young replica of James, Severus wished for a smaller copy of Lily.

Slowly a small boy came down the stairs.

„A-aunt P-petunia... I didn't mean to... Honestly - it wasn't m-my f-fault..."

Both men watched in horror the child coming closer. He was seriously underweight and wearing clothes obviously four numbers too big.

Petunia pulled her lips into a stripe and asked quietly:"Harry, what happened?"

It was clear that it took all her might to stay civil in front of Severus and Sirius.

„I w-was in Duddy's room and it-t just kept g-growing... I didn't do anything, I promise!"

At the same time he was pointing at his head with one hand and pulling his hair with the other. Both Severus and Sirius understood immediately that he was talking about accidental magic.

„Harry, have I not told you to stop this nonsense? Go back to your room and wait until I'm finished here. Then we'll have a longer talk!" Petunia snapped and pointed her finger towards the second floor.

Only then dared Harry to glance at the two men in his relatives living room. And for Severus it was quite enough. The second Harry's eyes met his, he entered the boy's mind and flipped through his memories.

The tiny space under the stairs, Aunt Marge's dog, a large man shouting,Harry holding a flower and moving it's petals, Petunia crying madness and sending the boy back to his room - the same tiny cupboard under the stairs...

It was quite enough for Severus. He exited Harry's mind and the boy collapsed. While Sirius jumped to see what happened, Severus grabbed his wand and pointed it at Petunia.

„You... You vile creature! How could you to this to him!? How could you to this to HER!?" He growled and Petunia took a step back.

„What are you doing? I don't allow such behavior in my house!" She shouted, but it fell on dead ears.

„Now listen to me, Dursley!" A purple light shot from his wand and captured both Petunia and Dudley. They fell into sort of a daze and looked straight at Severus.

„We're going to take Harry away and you're going to help us. Tomorrow you'll go on a picnic with your son and come back, bearing sad news. You tell everybody that Harry fell in the park and died immediately. I'll leave you an urn with ashes and you're going to tell everybody it's Harry's. You're going to be the only living person who knows that Harry is alive and well, but you can never tell anybody. The moment you try, your tongue rolls back in your mouth and I promise you - it's not a nice feeling, better don't try. And you're going to live your sad, pathetic life, knowing that Harry is going to be happier than any other kid in the world!" With that he ended his spell and Petunia nodded. She was still in a daze and Severus knew it would only end when she'll bury the fake ashes.

Sirius rolled his eyes and sent Severus a mock glare.

„Always the drama queen, Snape..." And then he turned his attention to Harry.

„Hello Harry! Do you know who I am?"

The boy was clearly frightened and shook his head. Sirius took a step closer and ruffled his already too messy hair.

„It's OK, Harry. In a few seconds you will..." With that he held onto Harry's hand and apparated them both to Grimmauld Place. Severus followed after he had put some additional spells on the Dursley household.

He slowly approached Sirius and Harry, because he didn't know how far Sirius was with his spellwork and he didn't want to scare the kid.

Harry was sitting on a chair and Sirius was waving his wand all around him, sending soft sparks out of it and giving Harry a luminous glow. The boy's eyes were closed and he seemed as content as a three year old could be. As the glow faded, some changes began to appear in the kid's face. His skin turned a tone paler and his nose grew longer. Harry's hair stayed as messy as before, but now they were black instead of dark brown.

It took Severus a moment to understand what Sirius was doing.

„Black, what is the meaning of this nonsense?! This is not going according to the plan!"

Sirius let out a chuckle and his eyes gained that mysterious twinkle Dumbledore always used to sprout.

„It's not going according to your plan... I never agreed to this gibberish fairytale you wanted to create. This was the right thing to do and if you don't want to hurt the kid's feelings, you'll play along!"

Severus groaned and knew he had no other way. Whatever other enchantments Sirius had already placed on the boy, he had probably also changed his memories and this was something he couldn't reverse even in a million years.

A few minutes later Sirius had finished his masterpiece and Harry stirred in his chair. Ever so slowly he opened his eyes and looked at the two men standing in front of him.

Severus was strangely happy to notice that Sirius hadn't altered Harry's eyes. They were just the same - almond shaped and emerald green. Just like Lily's had been.

Harry looked at Sirius for a very long time and Severus knew why. His newly created memory was adjusting itself in his old memories and forcing them to stay low. Harry was getting to know the Sirius Black who had raised him for two years and who had probably been the best mate in the world - knowing Sirius's arrogance.

And then it happened - Harry turned his eyes on Severus and locked them with his. The man didn't need legilimency to know what pictures Harry was seeing right now. A perfect father figure, calm and understanding devotion... A real family. With every second the boy's eyes gained more spark and soon a small smile adorned his face, only to be accompanied by a yawn.

„OK, time for a nap!" Sirius cheered and took the boy to a room they had prepared for him. Severus stood behind and waited for the infamous prankster to return. Although he was so absorbed in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice the man reenter.

„I know what you're going to say and let me tell you - before you kill me - it's much better that way!" Sirius announced and sat down on a sofa.

Severus sighed and nodded.

„It's not like I could do much anymore now! You know as well as I do it's impossible to get through all the enchantments around his memory..."

He tried to throw Sirius a glare, but failed. The day's actions had done it's work.

„I can't believe we actually did it! And listen to me, Snape - he's going to be the happiest kid - no matter what!"

Severus nodded and yawned. It really had been a long day.

„I think I'm going to rest now. Today had been exhausting - magically and emotionally."

He started going up the stairs and heard Sirius's last bark of laughter:"Ickle Sevvy is going to have a nappy-time!"

Five minutes later there was dead silence in the house, if not to count Sirius's blissful snoring.

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**Let me know what you think. Your rewievs make me write faster because I feel so guilty if I don't update...**

**Devy Black  
**


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